Chương 136: Chapter 129 – The Holy Summons

"Are all of you gods lonely?" Chelsea asked.

"You were this silent loner standing off in the corner. Until this annoying little demon girl made you yummy pizza." Freya lay beside Chelsea as morning light had started to creep into the room, but neither of them had bothered to get up yet. After the day before, Chelsea felt she had earned at least a few minutes of doing absolutely nothing.

"Yeah. It's a pretty lonely existence. There are a few gods that are very codependent, but the majority are lonely, I'd say." Freya moved her face in really close.

"That is until we find these annoying demons you're talking about."

"So very annoying," Chelsea whispered, getting closer. She quickly licked the tip of Freya's nose. Freya gasped, and Chelsea grinned at her without apology.

"How is Amber doing?"

"You'll be excited to know that even being reincarnated doesn't disqualify her from waking up every two or so hours to eat. Poor thing. I feel so bad for her but Fiona is doing an incredible job."

"I want to go see her," Chelsea said. Freya nodded, "We will. She's asleep right now, though." Chelsea shifted under the blankets, torn between wanting to run upstairs and wanting to let the newborn actually sleep. Amber was here. Amber was actually real and actually here. The knowledge still sat strangely in Chelsea's mind.

"We should return to Valhalla today too. I need to talk to my berserkers about the upcoming class evolution. Gods I'm not looking forward to that. Though, if we can get a new Havoc for themthat would be great. I haven't exactly been as available to them as they deserve. That new girl, I think she sees me more as a older sister than a leader or general."

"Yeah. This will probably be a bit rough for her. She's young. She will get a couple more havocs. And it's not like you won't be around." Freya stopped talking and raised her eyebrows.

"Someone official is speaking with your guard at the front gate. Can't hear them though. We should probably get dressed."

"Yeah I'm expecting to get some sort of summons by the king over the S-class merchant thing. Yeah. Let's get dressed." Chelsea leaned in and gave Freya a kiss, then rolled to the edge of the bed to get up.

"Dress or armor?"

"You know my answer. I always love seeing you in a dress," Freya replied. She grew back into her larger, more intimidating form while Chelsea watched the strange shifting of her clothes with the same fascination she always had. Freya never had to change in the normal sense. Whatever she wore simply altered with her, melting from one shape into another until it became what she wanted.

Chelsea found that deeply interesting, especially since Freya could also make the clothes disappear completely, which remained one of Chelsea's favorite uses of divine power. Chelsea tried on a few of her new dresses to see what the outfit would become. The first transformed into something over the top enough that she immediately rejected it. When the second one formed into something that didn't appear to be an evil wedding dress, she went with it.

She started to run a brush through her hair, but Freya reached for it and did it for her. Chelsea let her, standing still while Freya worked through the dark strands with surprising gentleness and patience. It had taken Chelsea a while to stop feeling strange about those small domestic moments. Now they had become some of her favorites. When they finished, the two headed downstairs to receive whoever the king had sent.

A stray thought popped into Chelsea's head as they walked, remembering that the royal family's name was said Weece but spelled Juice. She let out a single breath of laughter. As they continued down, they met a zombified Dewey walking up the stairs.

"You ok uncle Dewey?" Chelsea asked. He looked up and smiled, though the expression took a moment to find its way through the exhaustion on his face.

"So tired. Why is she up so much?" he asked.

"Welcome to fatherhood," Chelsea laughed.

"If you two need any breaks, Freya and I will be more than happy to take a few shifts."

"I appreciate that. I don't want to trouble either of you though."

"Nope, it takes a village to raise a child," Chelsea replied quickly. He nodded slowly and glanced back toward the stairs.

"I appreciate that. Fiona's parents were talking about all the help they'd be, but they haven't been by to see Amber since she was born. They left right after that."

"Don't worry, we've got you. If nothing else, Freya can bring all eleven other Valkyr here to take over so you two can sleep." Freya laughed and looked toward the ceiling, clearly picturing the house filled with Valkyr trying to care for one newborn.

"That would be a sight."

"You go get some sleep where and when you can," Chelsea said. He gave her a tired smile, nodded, and continued up the stairs. Chelsea watched until he disappeared from view, then turned back toward Freya.

"They're almost to the front door." Freya glanced toward the entrance.

"This is awkward. Do we answer it?"

"May as well," Chelsea replied, walking toward the front door just as someone knocked from the other side. Chelsea straightened herself, put on her friendliest smile, and opened it.

"Hello, how may I help you?" she asked. A delivery worker stood on the other side, holding a package carefully in both hands.

"I have a delivery for Miss Chelsea Wixx. Is she available? I'm required to deliver it directly into her hands."

"Certainly, I am Chelsea," she said with a polite curtsy. The messenger looked her over, then blinked as though the answer had not lined up with what he expected to see at the door. His eyes moved over her horns, wings, tail, and pale demon features before returning to her face.

"You are?" he asked, confused.

"Yes sir. Sorry for being the one to answer. I happened to be walking by the door when you knocked." The man cleared his throat and straightened, recovering whatever formal posture he had arrived with. He wore travel clothes beneath a neat outer cloak marked with the colors of the church.

"Right, well I have a decree from the Holy Capital. You are to appear before their lordships the Council of Cardinals."

"I…uh what?" Chelsea sputtered.

"Why would they call for me?" He handed over the rolled up parchment and a teleportation card.

"Good day," he said with a bow. Then he began walking back down the path as though delivering vague summons to demon girls was an ordinary part of his afternoon. Chelsea stood in the doorway and stared after him.

"I figured you would get their attention sooner or later," Freya sighed.

"The orphanages are run by them. Buying up all of the buildings may look shady. Especially when a demon is the one doing the buying."

"Ah. Yeah," Chelsea sighed.

"Guess I still get to wait for the king to order me to come visit too. Probably going to try to pawn off his son on me again." She smirked at Freya.

"I'm holding out for his daughter though." Freya laughed and put her massive hand on Chelsea's face.

"Only if she defeats me," Her voice became loud, booming and authoritative, "Freya, Goddess of Battle and patron to the twelve Valkyr of Valhalla in single combat."

"So you're saying she has a shot?" Chelsea asked, wrapping her arms around Freya's middle.

"I'll give her a week to train," Freya replied.

"When are you supposed to be in the Holy City?" Chelsea removed her arms and unrolled the parchment. Her eyes moved down the official writing, and her amusement faded with each line.

"Uh. What." She sighed.

"I'm supposed to meet with them tomorrow morning. What the hell. That's no time at all."

"Let's talk to Adriane to see if she will go with you," Freya said. Chelsea opened her mouth, but Freya immediately started explaining before she could argue.

"The Holy City is a weird place. I've been there one other time. While there I felt empowered and because of it I glowed. There were a few other gods there at that time who also were glowing." She shrugged.

"I have a feeling disguises won't work there for me."

"Aww, but you'd give me so much street cred in the Holy City. Being lip-locked with the god of battle is a total power move." Chelsea gave a small shimmy of her hips.

"Do that hip thing again. It was cute." Chelsea pushed out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout.

"No."

"Did it say anything else?" Freya asked.

"No. Not anything more than what the messenger said." Chelsea sighed and glanced down at the message again, though she already knew there was nothing else waiting for her.

"You sure you don't want to come along?"

"Your mother is much scarier than I am. I'd say take her."

"True," she replied.

"Let's head on to Valhalla," Freya said.

"Need to get that out of the way." Chelsea scoffed. She'd been dreading it since the moment the messenger arrived.

"Fine." A mischievous smirk replaced her reluctance almost immediately.

"But first, let's go change." The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She put enough emphasis on the word change that Freya understood exactly what she meant. Forty-five minutes later, they were heading toward the most recent temporary teleporter Freya had made. Chelsea had been giggly and clingy since they left the room, keeping herself pressed against Freya's side as they walked.

"We should do that again sometime," she said.

"How about back in my room?"

"Mmhmm!" Chelsea nodded quickly. Freya laughed into her hair.

"If you ever want to try it, we can try with me as big Freya. Could be fun." Chelsea narrowed her eyes as she considered that.

"I think that would be a little too much. Not saying no, but not anytime soon. Oh, but Celeste might be into that." The ability began vibrating almost immediately. Chelsea switched over.

"Please tell me you're not joking. I would one hundred percent be on board for that. Your weirdly giant meaty fingers alone…"

"Okay, fine, fine. It's so weird sometimes sharing a body with you." Chelsea said.

"Maybe, but I never interacted with anyone outside of doctors and my family. The first man I ever actually sort of interacted with was that delicious Alexi from that kingdom that summoned you."

"Really? Him? He does it for you?" Chelsea asked.

"Better than a middle-of-the-road elf and muscle mommy over here," Celeste replied.

"You're really beginning to talk like me. You know that?" Chelsea asked.

"Shut up. No, I'm not." Both Chelsea and Freya laughed as they stepped outside into the back field. The open stretch of land was as scenic as ever, with the path leading toward the teleporter.

"You know what, Celeste? Since you've been so incredible this past year, as long as Freya is okay with it, I'll be okay with… that. But I reserve the right to end it if it starts feeling like too much."

"Chels, you don't have to do that for me," Celeste replied.

"It's Freya. It's not some random servicer. I'd be happy to give you control."

"Do I get a say?" Freya asked.

"Sort of a package deal here," Chelsea replied with a laugh.

"Hurry the fuck up with that Valkyr," Celeste exclaimed.

"I'm seriously ready."

"Yeah," Chelsea said quietly, nodding.

"I can tell." Whenever she gave Celeste control, her tail began moving hard enough to nearly throw her off balance. Chelsea had to adjust her footing twice before they reached the teleporter. Freya laughed as they stepped onto it. Chelsea had to admit that having her around made teleporting feel far less significant. What had once been a major event had become another part of getting from one place to another. The portal deposited them in the same place as always.

Even after spending so much time there, Chelsea still loved looking at the sky. The stars remained visible during both day and night, scattered across the illusion Freya had placed overhead. Chelsea knew what was really there, but that didn't make it look any less convincing.

"No stalling." Freya gestured toward the formation field with her head.

"Come on. They're already out there."

"No. Everyone's too scared of you." Chelsea started toward the field.

"Go hang out in your room and make it nice and comfy." She wiggled her eyebrows at Freya.

"What has gotten into you today?" Freya asked.

"I don't know. Think it's just setting in that I'm on my way to being Mrs. Chelsea Goddess of Battle. Or whatever your godly last name is."

"Oh?" Freya clutched her chest with one hand.

"I don't get to be a Wixx?"

"Freya Wixx." Chelsea smiled as she tried the name aloud.

"I do like the sound of it."

"Yeah, I might've been thinking about that all night while you were becoming best friends with Sophiana."

"It's not my fault we vibe so well," Chelsea said. She looked toward the field and groaned. The berserkers were waiting for her.

"Why do I feel like I'm breaking up with them?"

"It'll be fine. Just talk to them and explain the situation. They wouldn't want you not to evolve for them."

"I know," Chelsea replied with a sigh. Freya headed up the stairs, while Chelsea headed toward the formation field.

"Do your best. You're Chelsea Wixx." Freya called to her Chelsea nodded, though the reassurance did little to settle the nerves. Chelsea forced herself to move. When she reached her field, she headed to her unit out of muscle memory. The group was not in a tight formation like everyone else.

"Havoc! Hey!" One of the new recruits ran over. Chelsea confirmed early in her arrival that she was 14. She was interesting. She was borderline obsessed with Chelsea.

"I missed you yesterday. Did you have a fun birthday? Oh! Did you get any fun presents?"

"It was great! Super-duper great." The youngest berserker stopped what she was doing and looked up her.

"Super-duper great?" she repeated.

"What's wrong? You and Lady Freya fighting?"

"No." Chelsea took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"No. I have some pretty cool news and maybe some not-so-cool news and maybe some more cool news." Chelsea continued to the others and called for their attention. Joe looked up from tying off more rabbit feet to himself, and Peg put both front feet of the chair she was leaning back on, onto the ground. Sebastian, who they now knew, came from a high noble family and fabricated a lot of his life's story to sound like a commoner stayed at attention. The other recruit was just missing… as always.

"Okay. Should we be worried about something?" Peg asked.

"Your mother isn't coming for a training session, is she?"

"No. No, nothing like that." Chelsea sat down in the grass. She rested her hands in her lap and tried to decide which part would be easiest to say first.

"First up, my aunt and uncle had their baby. I have a cousin. The best part is, she's a reincarnation."

"Oh, Havoc! Congratulations! That's incredible. How does that even happen?" There were various congratulations from the group.

"I figure it's the work of Bodarex fucking with our family," Chelsea replied. The berserkers accepted that explanation with ease.

"Next up is the news that isn't so wonderful. Well, maybe it is good news. Really, it's unknown news for me, but for…"

"Havoc." Joe interrupted her ramble before it because a full blown Chelsea moment. Sebastian raised one eyebrow. Chelsea looked down at her hands.

"In The Eyes right now, I have a prompt asking if I'd like to… uh… evolve my class."

"Evolve your class?" The girl next to Chelsea exclaimed.

"You can evolve past Valkyr?" Peg asked.

"Apparently so. It's rare, but yes." Chelsea finally looked back up.

"Which means I'll no longer be the Valkyr of Havoc."

"Ah," Two of them replied. Their faces shifted as they processed the words. Surprise came first, followed by disappointment, though they did her best to keep it from showing too strongly.

"I know I'm not a good Havoc. I know I'm never around, but…"

"Stop it." Joe interrupted her, "You're more than other Havocs. We're just sad you are leaving." He finished with a nod. Peg asked, "How is Lady Freya taking it?" The words warmed Chelsea more than she expected.

"Uh, she's part of why it happened. That's the other news." Chelsea shifted in the grass, letting her tail move more freely, suddenly unsure what to do with her hands.

"Freya and I, um, well, we've been betrothed since yesterday morning." All of them stopped moving and stared at her.

"I… you…" Peg's expression broke into a wide smile.

"Oh gods, Havoc, congratulations! So all I need to do is get a god to propose to me, and I get a new class. Sounds easy enough."

"Not just that," Chelsea said with a laugh.

"They also have to go see the love goddess and have her make a special piece of jewelry and give you her blessing. See? Nothing to it."

"Okay." Peg nodded slowly.

"We can live with that. You'll still be our Havoc. Just not in class anymore."

"Exactly. And that frees up the spot for another Havoc." Chelsea smiled.

"Who knows? Maybe little Amber will take my spot in sixteen years." Chelsea turned to her youngest recruit, "Or maybe you?" The young girl giggled.

"Is that the name of your new cousin?" Sebastian asked in his noble accent.

"Yeah. It's so weird seeing a little baby and knowing she can understand everything we're saying."

"I can only imagine," Peg replied.

"You can do better than imagine," Chelsea said, excitement pushing the last of her nerves aside.

"Freya is going to let them come to her room, and we're going to be able to speak with her. I'm so excited. You probably won't meet the real her, but you'll get to admire how cute little baby her is. I'll try to bring her by to meet you all."

"I don't think I'd hate that," The girl next to Chelsea replied with a smile. They continued talking for a while, and with each passing minute, Chelsea felt the pressure in her shoulders ease. They were disappointed, but she not angry. Eventually, Chelsea decided she should check in with Freya. Before leaving, her little clinger-on followed. Chelsea turned back to her and put her hands on her shoulders.

"I'm very proud of you. You are driven and don't let what anyone says about your age or size get to you." Chelsea brought her in for a hug.

"Keep up with your training and keep being awesome at everything you do Zoe." She finally them behind and made her way up the hall and as she approached the door at the far end, it began opening on its own. The space beyond the threshold was completely black. Chelsea knew the darkness was there to prevent anyone outside from seeing into the room. She stepped through. The darkness vanished around her. A large bed sat in the middle of an open field filled with flowers.

The sun hung low over the horizon, casting warm light across the grass as evening settled over the landscape.

"Awww, Freya. You're such a romantic," Chelsea said as she looked around for her. She didn't see anyone near the bed. When she tipped her head back, she found Freya stretched across the sky in her smaller Ashleigh form, her face filling the heavens above the field.

"No, wait. Don't come down yet. I do love seeing you big like this. I get to admire your beauty." Freya let out a snicker that resonated through the field and surrounded Chelsea from every direction.

"You're so cheesy sometimes." Chelsea smirked up at her.

"Really? I'm the cheesy one? A sex bed in flowers at sunset?" She glanced toward the bed again, then began working at the fastenings of her armor.

"Though, I'm not exactly… complaining." She walked toward the bed as she stripped the armor away piece by piece, leaving a trail of damaged equipment behind her in the grass. Chelsea gasped as two gods formed in Sophiana's garden this time. Her attention immediately fixed on the second, much larger figure.

"Freya! You're here?"

"Well, you did fall asleep in my domain," she replied. Chelsea hurried across the garden and threw her arms around the goddess's neck. Freya had arrived in her larger form and was wearing her helmet, which Chelsea found hilarious. Apparently, even after everything that had happened between them, Freya still felt the need to posture in front of another god. It was adorable. Chelsea glanced toward Sophiana. The fairy goddess watched them with open affection.

"Never in a million years did I think I'd see Freya so happy." Chelsea looked back up at her goddess and noticed the red creeping across Freya's face. She was embarrassed.

"Hey," Chelsea said quietly.

"It's okay to be happy in front of people. And gods."

"She's right," Sophiana said.

"I'm beyond happy for the two of you. Be happy for yourself." Freya groaned.

"I know I'm allowed to be happy. It's just, she's…" She gestured toward Sophiana without finishing.

"The goddess of love and a dear friend?" Chelsea asked. She released Freya from the hug and took her hand instead, entwining their fingers.

"Is this better?" Freya hesitated. She drew in a breath, looked down at their joined hands, and finally nodded.

"Good," Chelsea said sweetly. Then she turned toward Sophiana and narrowed her eyes.

"And you. You know what my class will evolve into."

"Oh, I don't know for sure. But I have a feeling I know what it'll be."

"First off, how do you know? Second off, why not just tell me?" Sophiana made a small, excited jump and clapped her hands together. As she did her wings gave a quick flutter.

"You meet all of the prerequisites for one very specific class," she announced.

"I won't tell you because I'm a huge fan of seeing things like this play out. It's not often I get to do a Bodarex impression and scheme."

"What do you mean?" Freya asked. She already sounded exhausted from dealing with the fairy goddess's high energy. Sophiana stared directly into Freya's winged helmet.

"Chelsea, when you go to the Holy City tomorrow, no matter what sort of trouble you're in, simply evolve your class. It will give you the power to deal with anything they can throw at you. Call it… Oh what do people from your pantheon call it? Oh dammit I knew this. Oh! A get out of jail free card."

"Are you serious?" Freya demanded.

"How the hell does she meet those prerequisites?" Sophiana ignored her line of questions.

"Just remember, Chelsea, if you find yourself in a dire situation that you can't find a way out of, evolve." Sophiana shrugged.

"You'll be magically whisked away and out of trouble." She winked. Chelsea stared at her, waiting for more, but the goddess offered nothing else.

"Mom," Chelsea whispered from a few feet away from the sleeping Adriane.

"Mommy." She stretched the word out in a quiet singsong voice, but Adriane didn't move.

"Mom," Chelsea whispered again. That finally roused the sleeping dragon. Adriane shifted beneath the blankets and opened her eyes. Gerard shifted on the other side of her as well.

"Chels?" she asked quietly.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I was summoned to the Holy City. Freya is being stubborn and won't go with me. Will you go?" Adriane let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed at her face.

"When are you supposed to be there?"

"In like thirty minutes," Chelsea said through a grimace. Adriane stared at her for a moment, still waking up.

"Chels, with your armor, you're stronger than Edgar in raw stats. Do you really need your mom or fiancée there? They'll probably give you an award for all of your work with the orphanages."

"I'll be a demon entering the Holy City," Chelsea argued.

"Wear a cloak and your dragon helm," Adriane said through a yawn. Chelsea frowned at her mother, but Adriane was already settling back against the pillow.

"Okay, fine. But if I don't come back alive, that'll be on your conscience. Seriously, though, if I'm not back by tonight, here's the second teleportation card I grabbed from my black market card dealer in Valhalla. Really it's just our standard card lady but she likes me." She placed the card on the bedside table where Adriane would be able to find it easily.

"I love you. I should be back sometime later."

"Sounds good. I love you too. Have fun." Chelsea remained beside the bed for another moment. This was a big moment for Chelsea. Adriane had just agreed to let her travel somewhere completely alone without a chaperone, an escort, or a member of the family watching over her. Apparently, her mother trusted her not to get herself killed. Chelsea knew the rules. She changed her active titles until only the Valkyr title remained, then checked each piece of her equipment.

She secured her shield and weapons to her wrists with cord so they were at hand if something went wrong. Once she was satisfied, she left the estate and headed toward the Merchant's Guild to use its teleporter. The sky was still dark enough that most of the city remained asleep. Chelsea wore all of her equipment except for her helmet, with a heavy cloak wrapped around her body. As she entered the guild building, she pulled out the golden card stamped with a large S.

A clerk she didn't recognize stood behind the counter. He was probably assigned to the overnight shift, judging by the tiredness still visible in his face.

"Just here to use the teleporter," Chelsea said, flashing the card.

"M-Miss Wixx. Of course," he replied in a friendly tone. Chelsea passed the desk and continued down the long hallway. The teleporter room was the third door on the left. She entered and found the pedestal waiting in the center, unchanged from the last time she'd used it. She pulled the cloak tighter around herself, making certain both her wings and tail were hidden. Then she placed the Pundukarack helmet over her head and adjusted it until her face was completely concealed.

Chelsea drew in a deep breath and took out both the summons and the teleportation card. She stepped up to the pedestal, ready for whatever waited for her in the Holy City.